Cracks in the Ship
by kaitothegreat
Summary: Two characters, one dumb plot and a pinch of weirdness here and there. / A series of odd drabbles starring some platonic or unbelievable pairings. Semi-AU [8: Kaito, Heiji and Roommates]
1. Shinichi, Kaito and their Common Things

Cracks in the Ship

Some characters, one dumb plot and a pinch of weirdness here and there. / A series of odd drabbles starring some platonic or unbelievable pairings. Semi-AU

A/N: So what the hell is this fic about? Adding on to what the summary says, the characters and theme for each chapter varies, and it's up to you on how you wanna see the "pairing", though I would think this fic is purely **crack**. Updates come whenever my inspiration calls for it, but since this is just a drabble, it should be easier to write (though I still have _Twogether_ that I need to update as per request from some readers, and how can I ever forget my _KaiAo_ goodness?)  
Nonetheless, hope you'll enjoy!

Characters: Shinichi and Kaito  
Theme: Common Things

* * *

Ever since the downfall of the Black Organization, Shinichi wasn't really keen in being part of the media's attention compared to his past self. There were times it was unavoidable when he had to represent the voice of the victims for some cases, but besides that, there was no other reason for him to be shown on the television or articles.

Except — when you're the son of the famous star Kudo Yukiko, or something like that. Yeah, _something_ like that.

"Thank you so much Shin-chan!" His mother beamed and slapped a hand on her son's back. "You're the best."

"I don't understand why I have to be the one when there's a million citizens out there who would most likely do this for free."

"Because you're my handsome son, what else could the reason be?" She kiddingly jabbed a finger into Shinichi's cheek before skipping off when the director called for her presence. Before he could think of ways to slip out of the studio unnoticed, a makeup artist caught him and made a couple of adjustment to his hair before sending him straight to the fake coffeeshop set where all the extras were.

And to the (somewhat) worst despair of his life, he was tasked by the planner to sit beside _this guy_.

 _This guy._

"Why the hell are you here?" Shinichi spat across the round coffee table.

Kuroba Kaito gave a lazy wave. "Nice to see you too."

Shinichi was about to rebuke when he was cut off.

"Your mom called my mom to get help in rounding up some extras and my mom decided to call me." Kaito stifled a yawn. "I guess we're both no match for our mothers, eh?"

"Don't make it sound like we have anything in common."

"Is that suppose to be a challenge or request?" Kaito blinked innocently, in which Shinichi responded with a stare that was as cold as December.

"Rolling..." Outside the makeshift coffeeshop, the director suddenly yelled "Action!" before focusing on his screen. Murmurs were coming from other extras' tables around them, though the focus of the camera was on the main actor and actress, who were sitting just a short distance away and in the midst of acting out their scene of flirtations.

"Well, let's begin our unscripted conversation." Kaito wiggled his eyebrows. "Let me ask you this unsolvable mystery that have been bugging me for a long time. Where in the nursery rhyme does it say Humpty Dumpty is an egg?"

Shinichi was tempted to reply _"in your ass"_ , but then he thought it would be too inappropriate to be used in this case. He decided the best decision would be to ignore the conversation and proceed to lift the prop; an empty ceramic cup to his lips, doing his pretend-drinking because the director demanded the extras to do so to make the coffeeshop scene looked real. Kaito hadn't touched his cup even once.

"Cut!" The director suddenly snapped.

"Sorry, I forgot my lines." The main actor began apologising sheepishly as his assistant rushed to his side to let him refer back to his script.

Kaito shook his head mockingly. "An obvious amateur. If it isn't for his famous girlfriend, he wouldn't have a chance to take a main role."

Shinichi quirked an eyebrow and set the cup back on the table, slightly intrigued. He wasn't up for gossip, but the confidence in Kaito's tone ironically made him skeptical. "How do you know that?"

"I'd checked up on everyone here before coming." Kaito stated impassively and he broke into a small grin when Shinichi was starting to frown. "It's a job habit. Don't mind me."

"You're really-"

"Second take." The director's loud voice abruptly blasted, silencing everyone. "Rolling... Action!"

"I'm really- what?" Kaito prompted the conversation when the mutters around the set began again.

Shinichi sighed. "You're really _dedicated_ to your job-"

At that (almost) unpredictable moment, a loud shriek echoed the entire set and everyone almost flung up from their seat in surprise, saved for Kaito and Shinichi, who were looking at each other in sync.

"Th-The director!" A crew's scream finally formed into words. "He's foaming at the mouth!"

Shinichi growled as he stood up from his chair, losing the staring contest.

The detective rushed over to the director's side. After instructing everyone to step away and give him space, his two fingers tried to search for a pulse, but the strong scent of bitter almonds was enough to tell Shinichi the director was dead.

"So," The infamous _annoying_ voice emerged from the crowd. "We _do_ have lots of common, don't you think?"

"... Be useful and make sure all entrances and exits are sealed." Shinichi muttered over his shoulder.

"Roger." Giving an exaggerated salute, Kaito left to do his job.


	2. Heiji, Sonoko and some Scandal

Cracks in the Ship

Characters: Heiji and Sonoko  
Theme: Scandal

For LadyShadow26, hope you like it :)

* * *

"So what do you do other than solving murders and crimes?"

Heiji scratched the dead skin on his thumb and shrugged. "This and that ya. Practice a bit of Kendo and hanging out in Tokyo."

"Tokyo?" Sonoko looked up from her notebook and wrinkled her nose. "Finding your mistress?"

"Are you here ta' interview or insult me?" He gave a dry laugh. "If it isn't for Nee-chan, I wouldn't be here ya."

Sonoko inwardly rolled her eyes and twiddled with her pen before looking down at the content of her almost blank page. _Detectives are sooooo boring._ She shrilled helplessly in her head, but what could she do when this was one of the first few tasks her intern boss asked her to do? If she screw up, her dream of being part of the special Kaitou Kid journalism-department could be a flush down the toilet, though she could always use the cheating method by flaunting her surname. The thought made her slightly hopeful, but nonetheless still focus on her current assignment.

"Just a slip of tongue." She answered half-heartedly in the end. "Well then, how is Tokyo for you?"

"Osaka's food are always the best of the best." Heiji leaned forward and placed an arm on the table, smirking. "In fact, everything about Osaka is always the best out of the best. Just like how you can compare between Detective of the West and the East."

"I see." Sonoko drawled and unenthusiastically scribbled _Osaka-obsessed_ in her book. "Then what is so fancy about Tokyo to have attract you here?"

Heiji pondered for a moment. "There isn't much interesting cases in Osaka for me ta' solve." He looked almost in pain when he had to say the next sentence. "It's boring sometimes."

 _What a stupid waste of travelling time just for that reason, unlike my Makoto-san._ She stifled a snicker behind her hand at the thought of her boyfriend before clearing her throat to focus back on Heiji. But in the end, her professionalism still lost to her love-gossips instinct, which led her to unintentionally blurt out her next question. "Then why don't you hang out with Kazuha-chan?"

"Kazuha?" Heiji slowly parted his lips before looking away while muttering incoherently under his breath.

When seconds passed and he still hadn't gave a full reply, Sonoko decided to move on with the interview. She once had to aid in Ran and Shinichi's case and it would be another great pleasure for her to play cupid for Kazuha, but having to break Heiji's one hell of a thick skull seemed too much of an effort. Besides, her main priority now was to get her job done. "Anyway, how often do you come down to Tokyo?"

He mindlessly shrugged. "Maybe once every three months or something. Actually it isn't dat' often anymore."

"Why not?"

"I guess it's hard ya." Heiji stared over Sonoko's shoulder and into the distance. "There's commitment issues."

Unbelievably, a part of her disdain towards Heiji crumbled and fell away. She placed a hand over her chest and frowned sadly at Heiji's faint disheartened look. Sonoko truly understood what Heiji meant by commitment issues. Makoto was always dedicated to his training and there were times when they argued over it, but their love and compromises were what kept them going.

Still, it must be hard on Heiji to partially give up his time on travelling to his favourite murder-hotspot just because he wanted to stay committed to Kazuha and spend more time with her in Osaka. What bold and courageous love! Sonoko squealed in her mind and mentally chided Kazuha from keeping her out from the latest _updates_. Maybe all along, she had always been wrong about Heiji.

"It's always a give and take." Sonoko dramatically shut her notebook and decided to make this interview personal. "It may be hard at the start but you have to understand."

"I do understand ya." Heiji ran his fingers across his hair and lowered his gaze wistfully. "It's just different now, compared to da' past."

Sonoko sighed and shook her head. "Change is constant. It's just a phase, things will return back to normal."

"It would never be da' same." Heiji squeezed one hand into a fist and nodded slowly in repetitive manner, almost like a way to comfort himself. "And for the sake of his happiness, it's better this way."

She blinked in surprise. " _His_ happiness?"

"Yeah," Heiji said sulkily. "Ever since Kudo reunited with Nee-chan, he never has the time for me anymore. But who can I blame? They were separated for so long ya. It just sucks whenever I think of how little time we're hanging out now."

 _"Finding your mistress."_

"Wait," Sonoko's mouth creaked wide open, her eyes almost protruding as she stared at Heiji with a twitch in her cheek. "So all along... you're not talking about Kazuha-chan?"

.o.

"Hello Ran, Sonoko here."

 _"Hey Sonoko! How was the interview? Did it go well?"_

"It's boring as hell, but that's not the reason why I'm calling you."

 _"Eh?"_

"I think that, perhaps, you might want to keep a careful eye on Hattori-kun whenever Shinichi is around."

 _"...What?"_


	3. Saguru, Masumi and Fake Dating

Cracks in the Ship

Characters: Saguru and Masumi  
Theme: Fake Dating

Prompts are always welcome! But it'll take some planning and time till I get to upload it :)  
/ This is a tad bit longer than what a drabble should be because ugh, I just couldn't shake off the habit of typing like a mindless rant.

* * *

The first time they met was the day when Saguru realized that life doesn't always pay good to be nice.

It was a normal day after school when he crossed path with this reckless pedestrian, who happened to dash across the road without a care for safety, but in the nick of time, he grabbed onto the muscular and firm arm a second before the green light turned red and saved her from getting ran over by a truck.

" _Great!_ I've lost him!" She yelled over his head while he was observing her legs in minute details, being the actual one stunned for a moment once he became aware that the person he saved was actually a girl wearing a skirt.

"Well," He peeled his gaze off her feet and to her odd yet uniquely shaped eyes. "Pardon me for saving you from being squashed to death."

"Crap, another wasted day." She blatantly ignored his remarks and squinted her eyes across the road before looking back at him with a scowl. "You owe me one."

He blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You're from Ekoda High, right?" She watched him up and down. "Hakuba Saguru."

The way she was peering at him so intensely made him look down to check on himself, just to make sure he was wearing clothes all along. He inwardly sighed in relief when he was staring at his black school uniform.

But the main question-

"How do you know me?" He glanced back up at her with a raised eyebrow. More often than he liked, the Suzuki corporation and Edogawa Conan had stolen the limelight whenever Kid was on the move, so as of late, he hadn't been on the Tokyo news as much as he was in England's. It was rather disheartening, but it wasn't a choice he could choose.

She waved a hand off nonchalantly like she couldn't be bothered to explain further, which seemed like it was actually the case. "Anyway, you owe me one for this. I'll find you again."

On the cue, the red light turned green and everyone started crossing the road. A couple of strangers bumped into both of them, though he couldn't blame anyone when they were blocking the way. But instead of moving along with the crowd, she stalked off to another direction.

There was no reason for him to call out for her, but his curiosity couldn't be kept inside of him. "Where are you going?"

"I'm pushing back my job till tomorrow." She shouted over her back before disappearing down the streets.

Saguru shook his head and decided to finally cross the road.

 _It doesn't matter anyway._

.o.

"Hakuba,"

The said detective looked up from his desk and smiled politely at his classmate who was standing by the door. "Yeah?" He responded while putting away his textbooks back inside his workbag.

"There's someone at the gates asking for you."

Saguru frowned and an unexplainable cold shiver ran down his spine. He turned towards the windows, which were coincidentally facing the school gates and stepped closer to look through the glass panes. His nose wrinkled unconsciously at what he saw.

"Can't shake off your ex-lover?" Kuroba Kaito slipped right next to him with an annoying smirk. It wasn't often that the thief in disguise would come and start any sort of conversation, unless it was to make a fool out of him or to annoy him, which he was now doing both at the same time with his remarkable talent.

"It's not what you think." Saguru sighed before trudging back to his seat to collect his bag.

There was this awkward silence that Saguru deemed as unusual for the prankster to not break. He glanced to his side and glimpsed at Kaito curiously. The latter was still looking at the front gate, face slightly pale.

"What's wrong?" Saguru couldn't help but questioned.

"Nothing." Kaito let out a long chorus of fake laughter before his face fell lax and he switched to his rare, serious mode. "How did you know Sera Masumi?"

"Oh, so that's her name?"

"Wait- You don't know her?"

"Let me throw the question back at you. You _know_ her?"

"No," Kaito muttered and moved away from the window and headed out of the classroom with two hands suspiciously in his pockets. "Definitely not."

Saguru was only willing to ignore the thief's current odd behaviour because he had himself to worry about.

He had thought a lot about it since last night. That tomboy; Sera Masumi, seemed like one who would press charges just because someone's elbow touched her chest in the crowded train. And judging from her toned legs he happened to (perhaps sinfully) stare yesterday, her kicks were likely to be dangerous. A bad sign. Still, he couldn't stay in his class forever, and something about her gave him the impression that she wasn't the type that practice patience. The longer he drag, the worse it might become.

Like what he was told, she was standing by the gates with her arms crossed and looking like she wanted to punch someone. He took in a deep breath and approached her with tentative steps he desperately wanted to hide. This wasn't his style, not one bit at all, and it seriously sucked beyond heavens. He just prayed Kaito wasn't anywhere to see his slight pathetic form at the moment, though he doubt it would make any difference when most of the students who were on their way out of the school were spying curiously at them. It was always a hot topic when a student from another school came to wait at the gates.

"Excuse me," Saguru cleared his throat, trying to ignore the surrounding stares. "You-"

"What took you so long? You're acting like a girl more than me." Sera slung her workbag over her shoulder and gestured her chin down the streets, signalling a move that Saguru still didn't understand. "Let's go."

"Wait, we are-?"

"We're going on a _date_."

.o.

The first time they went on a "date" was the day Saguru realized he had been missing out a lot when it comes to cafe and nice cakes. He hadn't tasted such a nice caramel chocolate cake since he was born, perhaps. It would definitely go well with his British tea.

While he slowly sliced the tip of the cake with his fork, he casually looked up to see Masumi almost glaring past his shoulders, and that very part of his shoulder seemed to freeze due to the electric waves her powerful eyes were giving out. Knowing better than to turn around, he placed his fork down and pretended to drop his napkin on the ground. While he was in the midst of picking it up, he effectively glanced to his side, to see a couple acting lovey-dovey at the corner of the cafe, their drinks and sweets were clearly forgotten.

"So that's your target?" Saguru asked when he returned to his position and set the dirtied napkin aside.

"Yes." Masumi's frown grew deeper. "I've been working on him for the past week and now's finally my chance."

Saguru nodded his head. After that undesirable declaration earlier, he only managed to sprint two metres away before Masumi caught up with him and explained the details about her so-called plan. Just because he'd accidentally caused her to lose sight of the cheating husband yesterday, he had to repay her back by being her pretend-date and aiding her in gathering the evidence. He thought there was no point of explaining that he saved her, because _being saved_ wasn't something she was used to, perhaps.

She took out her camera and was about to take some pictures when the cheating husband flicked his gaze over and she slammed the camera onto her lap, keeping it hidden just in time. Darn it. This was unluckily one of the sly and careful targets she had to deal in every dozen husbands she was commissioned to check up on.

"I'm not a good photographer, but I'm not a bad one either." Saguru spoke in an audible whisper. "We should change seats. It may seem more convincing if the boyfriend wants to take picture of the girlfriend and her food. The usual trend. I'll angle it in a way they'll be in the shots."

Masumi gaped for a few seconds before her face brightened. "That's a brilliant idea." She produced a thumbs up and they swop the seats after she handed him the camera under the table.

The case was closed.

"It was a good date." Masumi triumphantly waved the camera in her hand as they departed out of the cafe, her little vampire teeth poking out when she grinned.

Like it was his usual natural thing, he smiled. "It's my greatest pleasure."

It wasn't until 3 hours, 48 minutes and 15 seconds had passed then Saguru realized the stupidity of his response to Masumi's words back then.

.o.

Their tenth "date", one that Saguru agreed to (again), was held in a park.

They were sitting on a bench together, just across the target and his mistress who were giggling and fooling around in the broad daylights. Masumi held out her phone in front of her and flipped it to its original camera mode, but effectively pretended it was a selfie she was trying to take.

"You need to sit a bit closer to me." She muttered. "This is the best angle, but from their side, it's obvious you're not in the shot. They might suspect something."

"If you say so." He scooted closer to her and placed an arm behind her shoulders. They faked a smile and began taking pictures, but the photos being saved were all of the disgusting cheating husband's act. It was irrelevant and perhaps nonsensical, but he briefly wondered how their pictures would really look like if they were in fact taking a selfie; with his arm loosely around her shoulders, her wild and messy fringe so close to his face...

To think of this way, it seemed almost like this was a missed opportunity to Saguru, the sort of weird thing.

Their thirtieth "date", one that Saguru paid for (again), was held at a sea aquarium.

They were standing before a large fish tank, where Masumi's wide and dull green eyes were ironically lit up at the sight of the creatures swimming gracefully in their little ocean.

"I'm naming that _Blurb_." She pointed at an angelfish that had been consistently breathing out bubbles.

Saguru smirked. "Its face reminds me of you."

She snarled over her shoulder. "What is that supposed to mean?"

 _Cute?_ He contemplated for a moment, but his thoughts were broken apart when Masumi suddenly straightened her back and let out a curse from underneath her breath. Saguru was instantly alarmed and ready- for whatever she was alerted about.

"Where the hell is the target?" She slapped a hand over her eyes and groaned out loud.

He surveyed the crowded hall and could only chided himself the same.

It wasn't until 38 hour, 26 minutes and 9 seconds had passed then Saguru realized that the reason for their uncharacteristic distraction was as clear as day.

On their second _date_ , they met at the cafe that sold the best caramel chocolate cake.

They were both sitting across the table, their fork poking into the shared cake. Before Masumi could take a bite, Saguru placed his fork down and grabbed hold of her hand, which grew slightly warm with just his touch. He leaned forward, eyes narrowing while Masumi leaned the same distance back, eyes blinking continuously like a burst mode on the camera.

"What?" She spat.

"Is that..." Saguru scoffed and broke into a small smile. "Is that lipgloss you're wearing?"

He assumed the answer was a yes when she choke onto nothing but air.


	4. Ran, Kaito and Four's too many

Cracks in the Ship

Characters: Ran and Kaito  
Theme: Four's too many

* * *

"Don't you think it's a little... disproportionate?"

Aoko looked up from her bowl of rice with a little cute frown, which may or may not be one of the reasons why Kaito married her for. She eyed him curiously for a solid five second before swallowing the lump of food down her throat.

"What is it?" She said cautiously. He couldn't really blame her for the suspicious tone when the last time he'd admitted something shitty he had done was by bringing up a random topic out of nowhere (He asked her if she loved their living room fur rug, which she replied with a positive yes, and that was when he'd told her he had something even better back at their garage; which was a cub he _borrowed_ from the zoo because their precious older daughter adored it very much).

"It's quite lacking." Kaito gestured his head at the empty seat across the table.

"I don't understand- Oh Katsuo, you have gravy all over your mouth." Aoko shook her head and was about to take the box of tissue from one side of the table when the little boy wiped his mouth with the collar of his shirt, much to her displeasure.

"Hey! Aikiko just threw the broccoli on the floor!" Kanako, their eldest daughter, pointed accusingly at the food-thrower culprit, who was giggling on her high chair and whacking the plastic spoon on the table.

Despite how his family were noisily surrounding the table, Kaito's eyes were still fixated at the empty chair on the other side. The only time he looked away was when he helped to pick the broccoli from the floor when Aoko was busy feeding Aikiko her baby porridge meal.

"So as you're saying," Aoko finally gave her full attention to Kaito after he returned from dumping the dirty food away. "What is lacking?"

There was a moment of odd silence. Katsuo and Kanako were staring at him as well, their different shade of blue eyes were filled with puzzlement. Except for Aikiko, who was distracted by the sudden realization of the polka dot bib tied around her neck.

Kaito cleared his throat.

"We should have another baby."

.o.

Even if Ran could choose, she wouldn't ask for any changes to her neighbourhood. Since the first day she moved over to Shinichi and her newly bought house, she knew she would never want to move out from here. Throughout their stay, Ran had easily made friends with almost all the neighbours, which was partially due to her outgoing and kind personality, according to what Shinichi told her. But if it was about respecting the elders and being polite in greetings, Shinichi had done the same as her, though there was some exceptions.

And _speaking_ of the exceptions...

"Kaito-kun?" Ran yelled outside her house and across the little road after tossing the trash bag into the garbage bin and letting the lid closed. She swiped her hands to get rid of the dust, eyes curious at what she saw.

The said man paused and turned around before slamming his car door shut as he watched Ran walking towards him. He gave a nod and a compatible smile, which Ran returned the same. After their acknowledgment, she focused back on the thing that caught her eyes previously; the large bouquet of red roses in his hand. She'd lost count on the number of stalks there were.

"What's that?" Ran asked before shaking her head foolishly to herself. "Ah, it must be for Aoko-san, isn't it?" Her smile grew even more sincere, if it was possible.

"Yeah." Kaito scratched the back of his ear and sighed. "I'd cultivate myself if this isn't needed for an emergency."

"Emergency?" Ran blinked.

He gave a laugh that was conflicting between embarrass and depress. "I need to convince Aoko to let me back to our bed. I've been sleeping on the sofa for four days."

Ran winced and fiddled with the hem of her shirt. "That bad? This isn't good. What about the children?" Her heart slightly ached. She had witnessed her parents quarrelled when she was young, and it wasn't something she could forget easily even when two decades had passed. There were scars, and she didn't want those precious children to suffer the same as her. "Is there any way I can help?"

"Oh no, we didn't fight." Kaito waved his free hand while the other one was still holding onto the bouquet tightly to his chest. "It's just about the sleeping problem." His voice suddenly turned into a soft murmur, as if he didn't want her to hear him, yet he couldn't not say it at the same time. "She refused to share the same bed with me for the moment."

Confusion instantly struck Ran as fast as she blinked. "...What?" She didn't bother to hide her perplex tone.

He let out a huge desolated sigh and brushed his fingers through his wild hair. "I was considering having a fourth child to fill up that one empty space at the dining table. But Aoko wouldn't let me."

It was a snort at first and Ran managed to suppress the remaining chuckle for the pitiful man, but in the end, she couldn't held it in. She chortled at the back of her hand, the other clutching onto her stomach. "R-Really? And- And I'm sorry." She tried to fully stop her laughter and coughed between gulps of air when she noted how Kaito looked away with slight discomfort. She heard many things about this talented magician, mostly from Aoko, and for stoic man like him to talk more than two sentences about his troubles must be an agony to him. Ran quickly straightened her posture. "I shouldn't have laughed." She quickly added.

"It's fine. You're not the first." He muttered into the roses. "Jii laughed as well."

Ran remembered seeing the old man dropping by during the weekends for a family dinner occasionally. And if Jii really happened to laugh at Kaito's plight, it helped to give Ran a piece of mind; at least she wasn't the only mean person who think it was funny, and since the old man who sincerely cared for the family actually treated it as a joke, there shouldn't be a need to worry for the children. Perhaps they found it equally funny as well.

Not knowing what to reply, the only thing she knew to do was to sheepishly rub the back of her neck.

"Anyway, I should go." Kaito took in a deep breath as if it was going to be the last. Well, if Aoko didn't react positively with his plan, maybe it would be. Though who on earth could ever _not_ flutter with happiness and be accepting to whatever favour or apology, when such a massive and beautiful bouquet of roses was being gifted?

Still, there's no harm in giving some more extra comfort. "Good luck." Ran subtlety pumped a fist as an encouragement.

"Thanks." He gave a charming wave before departing towards his gate.

.o.

It might have been a mistake to come alone. Or if she was prepared enough, she wouldn't need to trouble anyone else.

Ran sighed and stared at the wooden bed side table situated in the middle of her favourite furniture shop. She wanted to buy a new one since the one at home was getting old and chipped after a long use. But she was unsure of the length she should buy since she didn't measure the distance between the bed and the wall. It would leave an ugly gap if it was small, and it would be pointless if it was too big.

What a wasted trip.

Or perhaps not?

As she was making her way to the exit, her eyes glanced upon a familiar figure standing a few metres away from her, arms crossed with a heavy serious look on his face, as if he was in a cemetery. But maybe it wasn't that far off since this was technically a cemetery to all the trees that were cut down for the furniture.

"Is something wrong?" She spoke over his shoulder.

Kaito mindlessly waved a hand. "It's fine-" He paused for a moment, eyes widening by a fraction before turning to look at her in slight surprise. "Oh, hey. I thought you are the sales person."

Ran settled a grin before looking over at the large round table before them. "Changing furniture?"

"Yeah. Soon." He nodded, almost to himself.

After staring at the table for the next three seconds, Ran's eyes brightened and she spun her head over to Kaito with a newfound excitement. "I guess it's a good idea. I mean, if your rectangle table makes you feel like there's an empty space that needs to be filled in, a round one would do the trick."

Kaito didn't mirror her expression. Instead, he raised an eyebrow and looked at her like she was barking instead of talking. "What do you mean?"

"You might not remember," Ran licked her lips, forcing herself not to laugh at the memory. "You've mentioned a few months ago, about the issue when Aoko-san didn't want a fourth child to fill in the space of your table."

Barely a millisecond passed and confusion was instantly wiped off his face, replacing with comprehension. "Oh, _that_ incident." He chuckled softly under his breath before staring at the round table. "Yeah, this would do the trick."

Even if Ran wasn't good with measurements, she knew this was a little bit exaggerated. "Maybe not so big." Ran politely offered and glimpsed around before pointing at another table at the far corner. "That size is better for a family of five."

Kaito didn't even bother to look, or maybe he did, she wasn't sure. He was a magician after all, stealth and steady. He simply shook his head. "It isn't going to work out."

This was the moment when Ran had to agree with Shinichi; that he couldn't understand this weird neighbour sometimes. "Not going to... work out?" She prompted, hoping he would at least explain what he meant.

His lips tugged into the shape of a capital U, eyes glimmering like a bright yellow sun despite how blue it was. "It's family of seven."

"...Seven?" Ran's mouth slowly creaked open.

"It's twins this time."

* * *

A/n: OMg okayyy hahah this is pure ridiculous. five children ahahha I'm actually finding myself crazy typing this idea out but anyway, despite it being supposedly focused on Ran and Kaito, I'm (not) so sorry for loving KaiAo so much that I have to put them in the fic somewhere. Still, I hope I made Ran and Kaito's interaction likeable. Hope you guys enjoyed it if you read till this far :)


	5. Akako, Kaito and the Love Spell

Cracks in the Ship

Characters: Akako and Kaito  
Theme: Love Spell

* * *

"A-As you know, Aoko-chan... that I'm n-not a good skier, but will y-you allow me to slide in-into your heart?"

"Um, Fujie-kun...?"

With the immense headache, Kaito bet his head was going to split apart any moment. He rubbed a hand down his face and snarled over at Akako, who was looking equally as unpleased as he was at the moment, although he _did_ try to make an effort to hide his unhappiness behind his poker face.

"Is there no other way for _this_ to stop?"

"If I know, I wouldn't be sitting here and doing _nothing_." Akako glared over at the bunch of boys flocking around a very uneasy-looking Aoko, who was squirming on her seat.

Just an hour ago, those dedicated targets of Akako's were under her bidding, until... until she messed up her curses and casted a wrong spell on the wrong person. Her original intention was to use a repellent spell on Kaito so no other girls, especially Nakamori Aoko, would go close to him for the day, but it seemed her luck and focus were close to zero today, as forecasted by Lucifer this morning. Ended up, she had executed an attract spell and missed Kaito by an inch and sent it straight to Aoko instead. Besides keeping a demoralizing mental note on practicing her degraded aim, she had to suffer the discrimination of watching her men leaving her for another girl. Unbelievable.

She should have listened to Lucifer's warning and stayed at home.

"Don't tell me your stupid spell is going to last forever?" Kaito leaned over to Akako and gritted with clenched teeth.

"Luckily, they do not." She ran her fingers down her long hair, trying to hide the pure relief of realizing her own answers too. "It'll wear off by tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" His brows furrowed again as he glanced at his classmates surrounding Aoko's desk. They were so demanding and making a ruckus over Aoko that he didn't have the choice but to leave his seat and sit on a spare chair next to Akako.

"Yes. Better than a week, don't you think?" Akako scowled sarcastically.

"Tomorrow is taking way too damn long." He sneered, eyes still fixated at the crowd. If Akako bothered to follow his gaze, she would notice he was glaring right through Hakuba's brain when he snuck a kiss on Aoko's hand.

"For the last time, there is _no_ other way other than to wait till the effect is all over."

"It would be even better if you didn't decide to use your-"

She rolled her eyes and flicked a non-existent dirt under her finger nail. "I'm not exactly pleased with this situation, Kuroba Kaito. Enough of your whining."

"I'm not whining." Kaito growled. "I'm complaining for a valid reason."

"There's no difference." Akako spat, her voice stung and cold like dry ice. She crossed her arms and was deciding on reciting her curses in her head to cool herself down, until a new horrifying fact dawned over here and she widened her eyes. She slowly turned to scrutinize Kaito as he tried to ignore her gaze uncomfortably.

"What is it? " Kaito muttered when he couldn't stand her stare anymore.

"Why are you here?" Akako hissed.

Kaito blinked. "What?"

"Aren't you affected by the spell?" As much as Akako refused and hated to admit, she needed to say it to explain the logic. "You should be with the crowd of blind folks and being head over heels with Nakamori-san. That is the _power_ of my magic."

"Uh..." Kaito scratched the side of his nose uncertainly, an emotion Akako never knew the thief would possess. "How would I know?"

Even though there were certain odd circumstances when the spells Akako used failed to have any effect on Kaito, that flicker of hesitation in his blue eyes was enough to tell her that her spell worked perfectly fine this time round. "Just like the rest of them who are acting in love, you are the same."

"I'm now perfectly normal, like always." Kaito rebuked, teeth shining with contempt.

Akako crossed a leg over another like the queen she was meant to be. "You might have just answered your question." She was a witch, not a cupid. Besides, Nakamori Aoko was supposed to be her rival... damn it!

" _It must be it!_ "

Kaito and Akako turned their attention away from each other to stare at Aoko, who was standing up with her hands furiously shaking her desk. She turned her head around, locking her eyes with Kaito as the latter made a gulping sound that was loud enough for even Akako to hear.

"This is your prank right?" Aoko brushed past a few boys and stomped over to Kaito, her face glowering over him. "Stop your stupid prank and turn everyone back to normal!"

"I swear it's not my fault-"

"Like hell I'll believe you!" With her own form of magic, Aoko whipped out a mop from nowhere and began her chase after Kaito flung up from his seat and ran out of the class.

True to his words, Kaito was acting perfectly normal like always, but the only difference was he didn't flip up Aoko's skirt during the chase. Well, he would have, if he was the only one looking and the dozen of boys wasn't gawking at him with that stupid jealousy firing in their eyes or something.

* * *

A/N: At this rate I'm going, this fic is going to turn into some KaiAo drabbles instead of DCMK drabbles... omg...


	6. Heiji, Conan and Food Tasting

Cracks in the Ship

Characters: Heiji and Conan  
Theme: Food Tasting

A/N: Part of this idea here was originally intended to be a subplot for _Under the Coat of Red Paint_ and I thought it can also be written as a standalone. Currently spamming all these short drabbles to get some motivation and muse to write more goodie KaiAo AU stuff too boohoo...  
Ps: Not exactly the HeiShin that one reviewer was asking about, but oh well hehe

* * *

Conan fiddled with his plastic fork, brows slightly creased at the cute _Hello Kitty_ ribbons imprinted on the utensil. Ran would appreciate this if she was here, and if she was here, he might not have minded as much about his crappy fork that was barely capable of fulfilling its uses when it could only scoop out two strand of noodles from the bowl.

He wearily glanced at his companion who was sitting just across the table.

"This sucks." Heiji wrinkled his nose while stirring the messy goo of his melted chocolate parfait, his metal spoon clanking loudly against the poor glass. "Everything sucks."

So here they were, inside this _Hello Kitty_ Theme Cafe, where it was mostly populated with groups of highschool girls and couples, except for them. Two men— or perhaps on the brighter side— A man and a child. It was somewhat a good thing that Conan wasn't in his true form because he would rather not at the current moment. But besides being in such a ridiculous location for the both of them, he couldn't believe the reason they were here for. Not to investigate a crime or keep checks on the BO. They were doing _food tasting_.

 _Food tasting_.

Conan pushed his kid meal aside and slumped further down in his seat. "I guess they focus more on the decoration than the taste."

"Let's go." Heiji began digging inside his wallet as he moved out of the booth and to the cashier. Conan was more than glad for this to end as he jumped off his seat and scurried for the exit.

"Saying _I'm sorry_ is much easier, don't you think?" Conan shook his head when he noticed how Heiji was frowning incredulously at the receipt when he finally walked out of the cafe.

"What are you even talking about? It's _not_ an apology meal." Heiji muttered and shoved the receipt into the back of his pocket. "It's just a treat."

Conan raised up his hand and counted off his little fingers. "We've visited four cartoon cafes that you thought Kazuha might like, and you're doing these crazy food tasting just because you want to make sure she likes the food." He added a pointed look.

"It's call preparation, even if it had been an unproductive one." Heiji sourly admitted before glancing at his watch. "Kazuha and Nee-chan should be done with their shopping, I guess."

"Well I hope they are because I refuse to go to another of those cafes with you."

"Next time when Nee-chan craves for Takoyaki, don't come asking me which stall is the best."

"Ran's taste is simple; As long as it's Takoyaki, she'll eat it."

Heiji smirked and eyed down at Conan, his smug smile unwavering. "Let's see about that. You'd never know about those crazy pregnancy cravings."

Conan choked onto nothing but air as he thumped his fist onto his chest to get his composure back. "Wha-What the hell are you saying?"

The dark-skinned detective hummed nonchalantly to himself and strolled towards the direction of the shopping mall where Kazuha and Ran were. "Just saying ya. Anyway, I've decided. I'll bring Kazuha to that _Gudetama_ Cafe."

After all these time, it was now easy for Conan to sync his steps with Heiji despite his much shorter legs. "I thought you said the rice was too hard?"

"But the curry isn't bad." Heiji nodded to himself. "And Kazuha doesn't hate curry."

Conan gave a dry laugh "Doesn't _hate._ "

"Ok. That settles." Clearing ignoring Conan's remark, Heiji grinned and slapped a hand onto the child's head, ruffling his hair to a mess. "After we meet up with Kazuha and Nee-chan, you'll say you're craving for curry and I'll suggest that place."

"Why me?" Conan slapped Heiji's hand away with a snarl. "Besides, their rice is really hard and the kid's meal only have rice. I'm not eating there."

"But they give a free complimentary colouring book whenever you order a kid's meal. Good to start saving up for your future child."

"I can afford a hundred of colouring books for my own children at my own expense, thank you very much."

" _Children_ , eh? You sure did plan far ahead."

Later that evening, the four of them dined at the _Gudetama_ Cafe. Kazuha did enjoy the treat and Conan did get the complementary free colouring book too. He kept it inside one of the drawers of the desk in his house's library. (Let's just hope the papers didn't become yellow by the time he turned back to his body in the end).


	7. Shinichi, Aoko and Fan Letter

Cracks in the Ship

Characters: Shinichi and Aoko  
Theme: Fan Letter

A/N: I can't believe I would ever get a reviewer telling me he/she was expecting my fic to be about Shinichi and Aoko instead of Kaito and Aoko LOL! But then when I think about it again... why the heck not too? Anyway, (belated) Merry Christmas and a happy new year :)

* * *

At the far corner of the kitchen window set a small vase and a rose Aoko received from Kaito when he presented it in front of the clock tower, before claiming he was just passing by and wanted to see Kid in action (A great way to ruin the moment, but nonetheless still sweet. Sweet and cold like an ice cream, as quoted by the magician himself).

Earlier this morning before school, Aoko was told by her father about how the demolishment plan of the clock tower was cancelled. The news made her happy the entire day, but if someone continuously yaps at her ears about his hungry stomach for the fifth time, it was hard not to ruin her mood and (almost) snap the pen in her hand into two.

"I'll be cooking... after you let me finish writing my stuff in peace for just one minute!"

Kaito slumped against the wall and eyed down at her with a grouchy snarl. "Is your stupid love letter so important than my stomach? And who's the one yelling at me to set my priorities right yesterday?"

"First. It's not a love letter. It's a fan letter. And I want to quickly deliver it before the post office closes. " Aoko took in a deep breath and slammed her pen onto the dining table. "Second. You _ought_ to set your priorities right because you regarded breaking into girl's locker room more important than our weekly class meeting. And third," She shifted her head to glare right into Kaito's eyes. "You ate all of my bento's side dishes, _including_ the bento lunch I made for you today! If I'm not complaining that I'm hungry yet, you have no rights to say anything!"

Selective hearing was what Kaito does best. "Fan letter? What fan letter?" He slowly ambled his way towards her seat with a smug smirk. "Is it for me? _Oh_ Aoko, you don't have to."

Aoko covered part of her writing with her hand and stuck her tongue out at him. "Dream on."

Instead of replying her childish antics, his eyes were focused on the paper under her hand. "I think the last thing you'll ever do alive is to write a fan letter to Kaitou Kid, isn't it?"

"No. It's the last thing I'll ever do alive _and_ dead." Aoko corrected, her eyes watching Kaito's impassive features. He tended to avoid talking about Kid these days, or at least not as much as she did... Pushing away the disruptive thoughts, she continued. "The fan letter is for Kudo Shinichi, if you're so interested to know."

"Kudo... Shinichi?" He blinked, face masked with confusion. "Who the hell is that?"

"He's the guy that stopped Kid from stealing the clock tower that day!" Aoko chimed and stared down at her paper merrily again. "Kudo-san is a detective too, just like Hakuba-kun. My dad said it was mostly thanks to his help that Kid failed."

Kaito rolled his eyes to the back of his head before an exasperated shout followed. "As _if_!"

She cast a withering look. "You sound like you're totally the one who deserves the credit."

That, shocked(?) Kaito to silence. It took him a while to speak, which was how Aoko made use of those seconds of quietness to quickly finish her last sentence of her letter.

"Pfft. As if that Kudo whoever will read your letter." He sneered, "What era are you living in? People use emails, stupid."

Of all times he could say and of all the times he could interrupt, it was only that moment when Aoko finished her little tiny signature at the bottom of the paper then Kaito stated the obvious. Aoko sucked in a deep breath and tapped a foot thoughtfully on the ground. "Well... handwritten is more sincere?" She weakly suggested.

Kaito, for the first time, didn't disagree or scorn at her obvious pitiful excuse. He simply shrugged her off and mentioned his hungry stomach again, for the bloody sixth time that day (She purposely took the longer route back home after sending out the letter, just to spite him and made him wait at her home a tad bit longer than he should).

.o.

It was easy for Shinichi to differentiate a fan letter and a normal letter such as bills, without having the need to look at the words on the envelope. The envelope for his fan letters tended to be of pastel colours and always had this common sweet scent or perfume sprayed over it. Typical. That was why when he saw a business-like envelope with no scent on it, he instantly assumed it was most probably for his father, until he noted the cute, tiny handwriting that spelled out his address and name.

This was a first.

He placed the rest of the mails he took out from his mailbox onto the corner of his desk before slumping heavily on his leather seat in his library, his fingers holding onto the unique letter. After so much experiences, he easily tore the envelope open neatly and pulled out the folded letter from inside.

 _To Kudo Shinichi,_

Not _Kudo-sama._ Not _Greatest-Detective-ever!._ Not _Shinichi-kun._

This was a first, again.

He continued reading on.

 _Among your fans, which is a quite a bit of an amount as I've seen from the forums online, I'm glad you've taken your time to read my letter._  
 _I'm the daughter of Inspector Nakamori, the Inspector in charge of the Kaitou Kid squad. I was told you'd assisted in foiling Kaitou Kid and his plans to retrieve the clock tower, and I am entirely happy that you did. Besides the fact that Kaitou Kid was insane and had no rights to steal the clock tower, the clock tower happens to be very important to me because of a special memory, and that's why I am grateful that you've saved it, and saved it once more as the demolished plans were now cancelled._  
 _Thank you so much for everything you have done, and I hope you'll continue to be the great detective you are._

The clock tower incident still burnt bright in Shinichi's brain. Chasing thieves wasn't particularly his interest, but that night sure made the boring helicopter ride much enjoyable. It ignited a similar thrill like finding a missing weapon in a murder scene, but more fun and less bloody.

Shinichi flipped back the envelope, his eyes widened slightly when he realized there wasn't a return address or any information to contact the sender, which, again, was a first. He focused back on the letter, eyes trailing past the paragraph till the letter closing and name.

 _Best Regards,_  
 _Nakamori Aoko_

The sincerity and innocence of the letter made the guilt Shinichi didn't know he have bit him much harder that he thought. He turned the paper of the letter and the envelope again, just to make sure there wasn't a return address before shrugging to himself, giving up the thought to correct this Nakamori Aoko that it wasn't he that really saved the clock tower for her; It was Kaitou Kid himself. And about the demolishing part, he had no idea how and why she had linked him to it at all. Basically, she had thanked the wrong person.

Wait. Daughter of Inspector Nakamori, right? Maybe he could pass the letter to Megure and ask him to pass it to that Inspector Nakamori, who then can help to pass it to his daughter... The thought of how troublesome it was suddenly made Shinichi a little lazy to-

Even behind closed door, Shinichi could hear the loud shrills coming from the living room. He quickly stood up and paced out of the door and towards the house phone, wondering if it could be Ran asking him out for dinner. Great imagination, maybe, but it still wouldn't hurt to hope.

He climbed down the stairs from the second floor and made a good sprint before picking up the telephone without checking the caller ID.

"Hello."

There was only silence at the other end, not even the sound of static could be heard. He repeated calling out greetings to the phone before ending the call with a frown when he heard no answer after ten full seconds. What a stupid joke if it was a prank. He shook his head and trudged back to his desk, to consider about the-

The... what?

When he entered the library, he realized the letter and envelope from Nakamori Aoko, which he was sure he placed on the table before he temporarily left, were gone.

.o.

Just a distance away from the Kudo mansion, Kaito scoffed at the piece of flimsy letter he'd unbelievably stolen from a detective in his hand.

"Cheh, what an idiot." He shook his head, before rereading " _the clock tower happens to be very important to me because of a special memory"_ sentence all over again until he reached home.

* * *

A/N: *whispers* look at me. lying again. this is a goddamn kaiao fic. everything is always about kaiao i'm sorry. i just couldn't betray myself


	8. Kaito, Heiji and Roommates

Cracks in the Ship

Characters: Kaito and Heiji  
Theme: Roommates

* * *

"That's it Kuroba. This is the last friggin' straw. We need to set a curfew."

Kaito slammed the common bathroom door shut and sneered. "A _curfew_. Are you serious?"

Heiji's hand fumbled on his bed and raised the pillow he grasped between his fingers, making a threatening stance to throw it right at Kaito's head from the top bunk. The only thing stopping him from doing it was the trouble to climb down the ladder to retrieve it afterwards. "Because you always make a heck of a noise when you come back and woke me up from my _sleep_." He pointed at the clock on the wall, which they bought from the money pool they each contributed together last year. "It's 2.30am. ASSHOLE."

"Says the one who always snores like an earthquake every night." Kaito wiped his wet hair with the towel that was hanging around his neck. "If you want to set a curfew, then I want to set a curfew for your stupid snoring too. No snoring after 11pm."

Aiming well, Heiji tossed the pillow and it perfectly landed onto Kaito's face before it dropped onto the floor with a soft _plop_ afterwards. Impassively, Kaito stared at the pillow for two long seconds of silence before raising his foot, jabbing heel first into the middle of Heiji's pillow and kicking it to the far corner of the room.

"Screw you Kuroba!"

"Goodnight to you too, my dearest Hattori." Kaito yawned and climbed to his bed on the bottom bunk.

.o.

"Hattori. HATTORI!"

"WHAT." Heiji's head popped out from the top bunk and eyed suspiciously at Kaito below, who was in the process of flipping his own study desk upside down.

"Have you seen my blueprint?"

"Blueprint? Blueprint of what?"

Kaito was on the verge of pulling his entire hair out as he continued searching high and low. "A museum. Anyway, it doesn't matter. With just one glance, you'll definitely know it's a blueprint."

"I thought you're majoring in mathematics." Heiji wrinkled his nose. "Why the heck do you have a blueprint of a museum?"

"Well, I don't understand why you're majoring in criminology and studying all those crap about justice either when you're not helping a man in need." Kaito scowled back.

Heiji rolled his eyes, grudgingly shutting his laptop and climbed down the ladder to the floor. He gave a once over at the little mess on the table before looking down at Kaito, who was now squatting and ransacking a box. "When is the last time you seen it?" Heiji asked in a genuine curious tone, feeling an extremely tiny, microscopic pity for Kaito.

"I was editing it on the desk like two hours ago before I went out to meet Aoko." Kaito sighed, his shoulders slouched. "But when I came back, it's-"

"You met Aoko-chan?" Heiji blurted and a grin began to show. "Did she make gyoza today?"

Kaito stood up and faced Heiji, uncharacteristically surprised for a stunned moment before a scowl embraced his features. "Yes, she made gyoza. And it's _all_ mine.

"Selfish asshole."

"Back to the main question." Kaito snapped his finger and pointed at his desk. "So did you see my blueprints after you came back from your lecture?"

"I didn't see anything because I don't care for your stuff, and you should know it too." Heiji gestured exasperatedly around their dorm room. "Beside, look at how small this place is. Where can a-" All of the sudden, like the speed of a bullet train, the sense of realization hit Heiji as his eyes widened by a fraction at the suspected truth.

Kaito's brows merged together as he leaned in cautiously towards Heiji after the latter suddenly stopped in mid-sentence. "You remembered something, didn't you?"

"Uh well," Heiji tentatively rubbed the back of his neck and gave a sidelong glance over at his roommate. "That Hakuba did drop by to pass me some photocopied notes for the lecture I was sleeping in."

"Wait-What? Hakuba?!" Kaito shrieked, shocking Heiji to almost believe Kaito was a man born with female vocal cords. "I thought we'd agreed that we won't let that horse into our room?!"

"Like I said, he'd dropped by to pass me some notes for the lecture I was _sleeping_ in. What can I- Hey where the hell are ya going?"

"To find that bloody thief!" Kaito flung open the door and dashed out, his steps echoing down the corridor until it became a mute.

"What the heck?" Heiji shook his head, mind swimming in doubt and confusion. "What's the fuss over a stupid blueprint?"

.o.

"Hattori."

"What."

"Are you watching porn?"

"Screw you Kuroba. I'm not." Heiji slammed a hand over his safety guard bed rails and snarled at the bottom bunk, where Kaito was lying heads up and using his phone. He scoffed, white teeth bright and shiny in contrast against his dark skin. "Are _you_ watching porn?"

"I'm trying to get my FaceTime to work but the Wi-Fi is very slow." Kaito grumbled and sat up straight, head raised to glare at Heiji. "If you're not watching porn, then are you downloading porn? Can you do it after my FaceTime session?"

"Shut the hell up Kuroba. I already said I'm not." Heiji rolled his eyes and slumped heavily onto his bed. Back in his comfortable lying position, he set his laptop on his stomach again and moved his cursor to light up the screen. "Are you trying to FaceTime Aoko-chan? Talk about _clingy_." Heiji chortled dryly. "Don't come to me crying after she dump ya for it."

" _You_ shut the hell up." Kaito yelled from below. The bed suddenly squeaked and creaked loudly as Kaito pulled half of his upper body up to the top bunk, with the help of the metal rails that was guarding the side of Heiji's bed. He strained his neck to see Heiji's laptop screen. "What are you doing with the Wi-Fi?"

"Ever heard of privacy?" Heiji whipped the pillow out from under his neck and intended to whack Kaito's face with it, but he was too slow. It seemed Kaito had magically grew a third hand or some sort and successfully snatched the computer from Heiji's stomach before jumping to the ground scot-free.

" _Top ten most beautiful places in Japan_?" Kaito peered at the video and glanced over his shoulder to stare at Heiji with a judging look. "Seriously?"

"If you don't give my computer back to me in one second, _Kuroba_..." Heiji cracked his knuckles, one leg on the ladder and preparing to jump. "I'm going to murder you."

"Kyaa. I'm so scared." Kaito drawled and trudged to the bunk bed to return the laptop, which the owner ungraciously snatched it back. "Instead of watching videos, why didn't you ask me? I'll be more glad to help." Kaito added cheekily. It was plain obvious that Heiji's annoyed frown was what fuelled Kaito's grin to grow even bigger.

"No thanks." Heiji scorned and sat up on his bed, his eyes focused on the screen.

"You're researching for a place to date with that Toyama girl, isn't it?" Kaito smirked as Heiji's shoulders tensed, his composure slightly broken. "The one that delivered gyoza yesterday because you're craving for it like a pregnant woman." He continued mockingly.

"Damn hell you're right." Heiji spat, not exactly specifying the question he was referring to, even though Kaito knew the answers to both anyway. "And also," Heiji cleared his throat, his face tainted with pride like he was about to tell the world he had won the presidential election. "Kazuha makes the best gyoza in the world ya, no one can beat it."

"Oh really?" Kaito gritted his teeth. "Then who's that guy who wanted to eat the gyoza _Aoko_ made for _me_ every time?"

"I _was_ hungry."

" _Whatever_ you say." Kaito pulled out his phone from his pocket, with hopes to see the Wi-Fi connection improved. But it didn't. He scowled, visibly irritated and casted a warning look to Heiji's direction. "Stop watching that stupid video already."

"No." Heiji returned a smug look before shaking his head and added an exaggerated fake sad frown. "How tragic. It seems your FaceTime isn't going to happen today."

Kaito began rolling up his sleeves. "Is that a challenge?"

"It's an announcement, dumbass." Heiji growled. He then pressed a button on his keyboard to unmute the sound and the loud melody of the video's background music started playing, the song blasting noisily across the room.

Three hours of struggling later, Heiji's laptop battery died and Aoko texted Kaito that she was going to bed.

There was no happy ending.

* * *

A/N: This is more like three drabbles combined into one, but nonetheless it was fun to write this haha hope you guys enjoyed


End file.
